Tag Archives: orange-bellied parrot

My Top Thirty Bird Sightings Of 2014

Posted on by
1

Most other years this would be a top ten, but with 3 major birding trips this year I am struggling to make it a top thirty!  If you want to see last year’s birds click here.   There is no way I could single out one top bird with so many to choose from so they are being presented in chronological order.  I haven’t finished blogging the Queensland road trip or the African Adventure so I have to cheat a bit with the photos.  They are my photos but just pasted in.

1.  Carnaby’s Cockatoo – seen at several places in Western Australia, Feb 2014.

.

2.  Western Rosella – seen at Dryandra and Stirling Range in Western Australia, Feb 2014

.

3.  Purple-crowned Lorikeet – seen near Fitzgerald National Park, Western Australia, Feb 2014

.

4.  Western Bowerbird – seen at Nallan Station, Western Australia, Feb 2014

.

5.  Splendid Fairy-wren – seen at Yanchep, Western Australia, Feb 2014

.

6.  Orange-bellied Parrot – seen at Melaleuca, Tasmania, March 2014

.

7.  Eastern Ground Parrot – seen at Melaleuca, Tasmania, March 2014

.

8.  Swift Parrot – seen on Bruny Island, Tasmania, March 2014

.

9.  Major Mitchell Cockatoo – seen at Bowra Station, QLD, March 2014

.

10.  Cockatiels – seen at Bowra Station, QLD, March 2014

.

11.  Satin Bowerbird – seen at Girraween, QLD, March 2014

.

12.  Ultramarine Lorikeet – seen on Ua Huka, Marquesas, French Polynesia, June 2014

.

13. Rimatara Lorikeet – seen on Rimatara, French Polynesia, June 2014

.

14.  Cape Parrot – seen in King William’s Town and Magoebaskloof, South Africa, Nov 2014

.

15.  Lilac-breasted Roller – seen in Kruger Park, South Africa, Nov 2014

.

16.  Echo Parakeet – seen at Black River Gorges, Mauritius, Nov 2014

.

17.  Vasa Parrots – seen at Ankarafantsika, Madagascar, Nov 2014

.

18.  Schlegel’s Asity – seen at Ankarafantsika, Madagascar, Nov 2014

.

19.  Hoopoe – seen at Ankarafantsika, Madagascar, Nov 2014

.

20.  Paradise Flycatcher – seen in Kakum National Park, Ghana Nov 2014

.

21.  Red Malimbe – seen in Kakum National Park, Ghana Nov 2014

.

22.  African Grey Parrot – seen (fleeting glimpse) in Kakum National Park, Ghana Nov 2014

Didn’t click fast enough!

23.  Senegal Parrot – seen in Shai Hills, Ghana Nov 2014

.

24.  Tacazze Sunbird – seen at Addis Ababa Hilton, Ethiopia, Nov 2014

.

25.  African Red-bellied Parrot – seen at Tarangire, Tanzania, Nov 2014

.

26.  Cordon Bleu Waxbill – seen at Tarangire, Tanzania, Nov 2014

.

27.  Meyer’s Parrot (Brown Parrot) – seen at Tarangire, Tanzania, Nov 2014

.

28.  Red-and-yellow Barbet – seen at Tarangire, Tanzania, Nov 2014

.

29.  Superb Starling – seen all over Tanzania, Nov 2014

.

30.  Lovebirds – seen in Madagascar (Grey-headed), Tarangire (Yellow-collared) and Ndutu (Fischer’s).  Just couldn’t choose between them!  Nov 2014

.

These aren’t necessarily the rarest birds but they were birds that made a major impression on me.  Maybe for their rarity, maybe for their beauty or maybe for their behaviour! Apologies for not having profiles up on about half the birds but I still have a lot more to blog about!

A Magical Encounter With Orange-bellied Parrots

Posted on by
Reply

Melaleuca is by far the easiest place to see these critically endangered little parrots.  Orange-bellied Parrots (OBPs) are still fewer than 50 in the wild.  Last year, some captive bred OBPs were released at Melaleuca in hopes that they would breed and they did!  We are now eagerly awaiting more news when the OBPs start returning to Melaueca in the spring.  For more updates, follow Save the Orange-bellied Parrot on Facebook.

When you take the Par Avion trip, most people will take off on a nature hike with their pilot/guide.  We wanted to spend as much time as possible with the OBPs so our guide showed us to the path leading to the bird hide.

IMG_7229a IMG_7233a IMG_7372

It’s a pretty small hide so we had to take turns going inside. IMG_7388

I gasped in delight as some OBPs were already there feeding alongside some Beautiful Firetails.  The two species seemed to get along just fine either feeding side by side or taking turns.IMG_7234 IMG_7248

While we were waiting our turn to go in the hide, we stood on a small hill behind the hide and watched the OBPs and some other birds waiting their turn for the food.IMG_7262a IMG_7277 IMG_7281

One of this year’s young.  This little guy and his siblings will make a long flight in a few weeks to Victoria even though they are only a few months old!  They just seemed so fragile to me, I can’t believe they actually survive such a long flight over water!IMG_7282a IMG_7288 IMG_7285a

Was he waving at the Beautiful Firetail?IMG_7245a IMG_7273a

All the birds are banded, you can see the orange leg ring on this one.  The rings allow researchers to keep track of them here and on the mainland.IMG_7292a IMG_7298a

Orange-bellied Parrot (Neophema chrysogaster)

Orange-bellied Parrot (Neophema chrysogaster)

Orange-bellied Parrots eating

Orange-bellied Parrots eating

You can tell the adults as their orange belly is much brighter.  The youngsters won’t have the colours until their first moult.

IMG_7315a IMG_7318a IMG_7321 IMG_7326a IMG_7373 IMG_7376a IMG_7382a IMG_7384a IMG_7390 IMG_7392We made two visits to the OBP hide, before and after lunch.  We did have to be polite and let everyone in the hide but fortunately only about 7 or 8 people were really spending a lot of time with these birds so we had plenty of time.  When we left, we felt so privileged to have met these delicate but brave little birds.  In a couple months, they will start returning to Melaleuca, I hope they all have a safe journey and the 2014 breeding season is even more successful!

 

Our Melaleuca Adventure With Par Avion

Posted on by
Reply

A day trip to Melaleuca with Par Avion is bound to be the highlight of any birder’s trip to Tasmania!  They depart from Cambridge Airport just near the main Hobart Airport HBA early in the morning so you should fly in the day before, preferably on miles.  Unfortunately Par Avion does not have a frequent flyer program!

IMG_7189While you wait, check the trees outside the car park for Musk Lorikeets.

IMG_7110 IMG_7110a IMG_7196

Par Avion has several small aircraft and you will be assigned a pilot (who doubles as a giude) and a plane.  Expect several planes to make the trip depending on bookings.IMG_7205

On the way out, our pilot Sam pointed out the landmarks below.IMG_7207 IMG_7211 Fish farms IMG_7217

One by one all the planes landed at Melaleuca and we were gathered in a small hut for orientation.  IMG_7229a IMG_7333 IMG_7334 IMG_7335 IMG_7337 IMG_7400

Ina & I with our planeIMG_7406

Preparing for the flight backIMG_7409 IMG_7416 IMG_7418 IMG_7419

I am going to do more detailed blogs about the visit to the Orange-bellied Parrots and other sights in Melalueca and just post photos pertaining to the planes and flights here.IMG_7426

Destination Hobart, Tasmania (Melaleuca)

Posted on by
14

GETTING TO HOBART

Yesterday, I gave some information about the endangered Orange-bellied Parrot.  Now let’s find out how to get to see them in the wild!   The “A” shows where Melaleuca is in relation to Hobart.

Tasmania is the smallest state in Australia and I am going to assume that if you are coming from overseas, it won’t be your only destination in Australia.  I have another post  about how to get from overseas to Australia on miles.

There are two major airlines that fly from the mainland to the main airport, Hobart (HOB) – Virgin Australia and Qantas.  Virgin is not yet in any major airline alliance and there are few opportunities to use other airline partners on domestic Virgin (DJ) flights.  Aussies can readily get Velocity points from credit cards and other partners.  Here’s an example of a round trip redemption from Sydney to Hobart.   From Brisbane it is the same, from Melbourne a bit less and from Adelaide a bit more.  From Perth, it goes up quite a bit.

 

QANTAS also has a distanced based award chart with a handy award calculator.

Sydney and Brisbane both are in Zone 2.

By contrast, have a look at the award cost from Perth.

Qantas is a member of One World so it often works out cheaper in both miles and money to use their partner American Airlines to book this flight.  AA has a flat fee of 10,000 miles each way no matter where you are flying to and from in Australia so they are a good bargain for longer flights.

 

British Airways has a distance based chart but short distances can be a bargain when booked with Avios.  They start as low as 4500 from Melbourne, 9000 from Brisbane up to 12,500 from Perth each way.

WHERE TO STAY

The flights to Melaleuca leave from Cambridge Airfield which is very close to Hobart Airport where your flight from the mainland arrives.  The purple dot indicates the location of the Quality Airport Hotel.  This runs around $125-ish in cash or since they are part of the Choice hotel chain you can use 25,000 points to book it for free!

 

HOW TO GET TO MELALEUCA FROM HOBART

Only small aircraft that seat 6-10 people fly this route.  Par Avion is the main tour operator that does day trips to Melaleuca and take you to the bird hides to see the Orange-bellied Parrots.

 They can also provide flights for people who want to spend a few days at Melaleuca and camp out.  There are more details on their website.

The Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service website has more information.  Be sure to check out the sound clip of the OBP, they are pretty quiet for parrots!

For bushwalkers and those who are able to fly into the Tasmanian south-west, there is a good chance of seeing Orange-bellied Parrots. At Melaleuca, in the Southwest National Park, a bird hide has been built especially for observing the birds. From mid-October until the end of March, the birds are regular visitors, coming and going throughout the day. However the best times to see them are in the early mornings or late afternoons. There are two bushwalkers’ huts with room for up to 20 people.

If you are VERY lucky, you may also see Ground Parrots like this blogger reports!   Tasmania has a wealth of nature reserves that have great birding, so I would recommend spending at least a week here.  I will be doing more posts later about other birding hotspots in Tasmania.

 

Orange-Bellied Parrots (Neophema Chrysogaster)

Posted on by
4

Orange-bellied Parrots (Neophema chrysogaster) are one of the rarest parrots species in the world; and unless something is done, we risk losing them from the planet forever.

I took the photos below on my trip to see them at Melaleuca, Tasmania in March 2014.

Orange-bellied Parrot (Neophema chrysogaster)

Orange-bellied Parrot (Neophema chrysogaster)

IMG_7315a

Orange-bellied Parrots eating

Orange-bellied Parrots eating

IMG_7376a IMG_7384a

According to this video report, there are only 20 at the traditional breeding grounds at Melalueca, Tasmania.  They are one of only two species of parrot which migrate.  OBPs breed in Tasmania and spend the winter in coastal grasslands on southern mainland Australia. With only 36 wild birds known to be alive after the summer 2011/12 breeding season, it is regarded as a critically endangered species.  This map shows their range.

OBP range

There is extensive information on the species on the Australian Biodiversity site, but I do want to point out the major threats.

The main current threat to the Orange-bellied Parrot is the loss and fragmentation of its non-breeding saltmarsh habitat. Suitable habitat has been lost to the construction of farmland, industrial sites and saltworks (Ashby 1924b; Brown & Wilson 1982; Loyn et al. 1986; Menkhorst et al. 1990; Starks 1995b; Stephenson 1991; Yugovic 1984). The main factors contributing to the loss of Orange-bellied Parrot habitat are:

  • drainage of wetlands for grazing
  • alteration and destruction of saltmarsh for industrial and urban development
  • grazing of native vegetation
  • vegetation clearance for agricultural purposes
  • changes to land use practices
  • recreational activities (OBPRT 2006a).

Potential threats to the Orange-bellied Parrot population include loss of unknown breeding sites, competition from introduced species, predation, Psittacine Circoviral Disease (PCD), collision with structures, ingestion of toxic weeds and reduced availability of food due to the changed species composition at feeding sites (OBPRT 2006a).

Threat Abatement and Recovery

The current Recovery Plan includes the following objectives:

  • To monitor the population size, productivity, survival and life history of the Orange-bellied Parrot.
  • To identify all sites used by Orange-bellied Parrots and better understand migration.
  • To increase the carrying capacity of habitat by actively managing sites throughout the species’ range.
  • To identify, measure and ameliorate threats, particularly in migratory and winter habitats.
  • To increase the number of breeding sub-populations /groups.
  • To maintain a viable captive population.

How can you help?

Zoos Australia have a captive breeding program and you can help by virtually “adopting” an Orange-bellied Parrot.

Visit their website to learn more about this.

Orange-bellied Parrots are also represented on Facebook and I recommend you like these pages to keep up to date with what is happening with them.

Orange-bellied Parrot Project

Save the Orange-bellied Parrot

 

In spite of their rarity, it is still possible to see Orange-bellied Parrots in the wild at Melaleuca, Tasmania.  In this post I  show you how to get there on airline miles and organize a visit.  They can also be seen in coastal Victoria while they spend the winter there but they are more spread out and more difficult to spot.  I recommend making the trip to Tasmania to see them between January-early March when there are both adults and newly hatched babies around.

 

LEARN MORE ABOUT ORANGE-BELLIED PARROTS

World Parrot Trust

Wikipedia

Birdlife

Birds in Backyards

VIDEO

Polytelis Media has a superb clip from their excellent series on Australian parrots on Youtube.